Los casos de estudio demuestran que los sistemas de alto desempeño se caracterizan por un alto nivel de alineación entre dichas dimensiones. Es probable que la ausencia de algunos de los elementos o la falta de alineación entre las varias dimensiones comprometa la habilidad de las universidades de investigación de prosperar y perdurar. Además, mientras que algunos de los factores son requisitos absolutos, otros son bastante relevantes pero no totalmente indispensables.
The Road To Academic Excellence: Lessons from experience. In the last decade, the term world-class university has become a phrase to describe the universities dedicated to do research in the top of the hierarchy of higher education. However, as Philip G. Altbach has noted with great precision, the paradox of world-class university is that "everyone wants one, no one knows what it is and nobody knows how to get it." Obtaining the elite status of world-class university exemplified by universities like Harvard or Oxford, is based on international recognition. The last decade has seen the development of a number of international university rankings (such as the Shanghai Jiao Tong University or the Times Higher Education) that have made this recognition, more systematic and objective, leading to disputes with global reach. The responses from various governments to these rankings have changed since the creation of alternative rankings (Russia and France for example) to promote qualitative changes in the university sector to improve the position of institutions in the global scene. However, the development of world-class universities requires more than instinctive reactions to the rankings or huge investment of government resources. It is a long and complex process that has only recently begun to receive careful attention. Development trajectories The case of study explored in this book includes consolidated universities that have made or are making conscious efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness, and new institutions from scratch with the ambitious vision of achieving world class status. This set of case studies indicates that it is easier to achieve academic excellence by establishing a new university research trying to improve an existing one. However, the case studies also point to a number of "acceleration factors" that may play a supporting role in the pursuit of excellence. The first of these factors is widely supported in the diaspora, especially when establishing a new institution. Second, the use of English as the main language of the institution, which greatly improves the ability of an institution to attract highly qualified foreign scholars. Focus on niche areas, such as disciplines related to science and engineering, is the third way to achieve critical mass quickly. The fourth approach uses a comparative analysis or benchmarking as a guide to guide the institution in its improvement efforts. The fifth factor is significant innovations in curricula and pedagogical aspects: it is through a highly innovative academic model and the new institutions can draw leading academics and university students consolidated. The final point worth emphasizing about the "road to excellence" is the need that successful institutions remain vigilant and maintain a sense of urgency to avoid complacency. This factor involves continuous monitoring and selfassessments to identify tensions and threats and act quickly to address them.
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